Author: yiyun
FountainVest Sees Fund Three Close with $2.1 Billion (U.S.)
FountainVest Partners announces the successful completion of its third fund (FountainVest China Capital) with a total capital commitment of $2.1 Billion (U.S.). Due to the oversubscription, the fund attracted exceptional support from current investors along with new institutional investors which included insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, and pension plans from Europe, the Middle East, North America, Asia, and Europe.
FountainVest believes in China’s vast opportunities within the private sector as the industry consolidate, mergers and acquisitions will fuel the fire and new national leader will rise. With an increasingly complex environment, valuable opportunities rise via expertise and enhancement.
FountainVest was founded in 2007, a firm dedicated to investment and partnership with private enterprise in China – leaders bent on China’s transformation into a consumption economy. In its last round of funding, FountainVest raised $1.35 billion (U.S.) while its original funding campaign closed just shy of $1 billion (U.S.).
April 2016, saw FountainVest partner with Focus Media in the launch of a $400 million (U.S.) investment in sports companies in China and overseas. The firm’s previous investments have included IMAX China, O2O, Fangdd.com, Xingren, and Shanghai Kehua.
KWAP Invests RM124mil In Uber
Uber, a non-traditional asset, has just seen the investment of RM124mil by KWAP, Kuala Lumpur’s second largest pension fund. Following in the footsteps of Khazanah Nasional’s investment in tech start-ups seems to be the fuel behind Retirement Fund, Inc. (KWAP) investment of $30 million (U.S.) into the modern car-hailing Uber app. The recent round of funding, G series, began last year.
Investing in a unique asset is expected to benefit within the low interest rate environment. KWAP sources site technology investments within the firm as a growth sector beneficial to explore.
Currently, KWAP is handling RM123 billion funds and is reviewing its portfolio to include riskier investments as well as doubling investment allocations in private equity firms as well. Presently, 90 percent of KWAP investments are found in traditional assets including fixed income and equity, while 10 percent is invested in alternative investments.
KWAP seems to be following the trends of other conservative managers globally who are seeking to enhance performance in today’s challenging market and technology is particularly appealing.
KWAP joins Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, who invested $3.5 billion (U.S.) in the recent Uber fund-raising round. Uber is among one of the most funded start-ups globally with its lightning fast expansion into 70 countries worldwide.
Since its original launch in 2013 in Malaysia, Uber has successfully completed nine rounds of funding valued at $12.9 billion (U.S.). Presently Uber reports $13 billion (U.S.) in cash and credit available with losses of $1.2 billion (U.S.) in the first half of this year.
The Khazanah investment was performed via private equity funding, along with hundreds of millions of other start-ups including Fractal Analytics and Garena.
Three Deals Emerge In Singapore: SMRT-Cyclect Joint Venture; PSL Raises Funds; Asiamedic In M&A Discussions
SMRT, alongside Cyclect Electrical of JV SMRT Corporation have established a joint venture company in conjunction with Cyclect Electrical Engineering. Cyclect Electrical Engineering is a Singapore-based business which serves the industrial plant building industry including offshore, marine, transport and logistic segments of the industry. The newly formed joint venture, known as SMRT-Cyclect Power, will establish electrical systems for both land transportation as well as supply of rail system solutions including the likes of the Singapore’s own Light Rail Transit System and the Mass Rapid Transit System by subscribing to 60 percent of the joint venture’s cash consideration, approximately S$600,000 all internally funded. The initial targeted focus of the business is Australia, Southeast Asia, and New Zealand with plans for future expansion into China, India, and Africa.
PSL Holdings has raised S$2.96 million in a private placement subscription agreement with three investors in order to issues 7,734,000 new shares at an issuing price of 38.25 cents per share. Representing a discount of 10 percent to the weighted average price of 42.5 percent based on its company shares. Sources at PSL offer that the corporation will utilize 80 percent of proceeds to enhance expansion and growth while 20 percent will be used for working capital.
In related Asia news, wellness and health screening Asiamedic has entered discussion regarding merger and acquisitions in relation to new business opportunities. A source from the firm responded to questions amid unusual trading reported by the Singapore Exchange. With an intraday high of 10.6 cents, an increase of 51 percent prior to the previous day’s close of seven cents. A final closing of 9.1 cents was a result of 27.5 million shares traded. Asiamedic reports to shareholders that no certain agreements have been reached advising shareholders to be cautious in trading as the company explores expansion opportunities hoping to enhance value and increase growth across the board.
Malaysia’s Instant Delivery Startup, RunningMan Raises US$40K Within 24 Hours
Reaching their targeted amount of RM175K (approximately US$40K) within 24 hours of their pitchIN Equity Crowdfunding, public attention has been centred on a Malaysian logistics startup company known as RunningMan.
A platform that offers instant delivery services, RunningMan caters the needs of those that wish to save a trip to their nearby shops or restaurants as with RunningMan riders stationed at strategic points within the coverage area, deliveries are able to be made within an hour.
The startup though launched in May 2015, was however already in play during founders Andrew Chee and Tan Wei Yong’s university days. The idea was Initially borne out of their intention to generate sufficient income to cover student expenses and cater the needs of hungry but busy students in the university.
And as the idea continue to grow and show potential, they decided to nurture it. Making history with their pitchIN Equity Crowdfunding held on August 22nd which has raised funds worth US$40K led by Nexea Angels, BizAngel Network, and WTF Accelerator.
“We are very happy to see that investors believe in us. We may be a young team but we have proven with our results that we have the potential to become a leading player in the on-demand economy,” said Andrew Chee, the Founder and CEO of RunningMan.
Despite moving from food deliveries to full last-mile logistic services or with its user base expanding from 200 to 7000, RunningMan continues to deliver results. To date, they have achieved an averaged 20% monthly growth without going into the red.
Intending to continue their success, Chee further adds that “The funds acquired will be used to build better mobile and IT solutions as well as to expand and cover the full area of Klang Valley to assist consumers and businesses with their delivery and purchasing needs.”
About RunningMan:
RunningMan serves as an e-commerce platform which allows users to connect to shops located within their vicinity. The application facilitates instant delivery service whereby users can pick their desired products and have runners deliver them straight to the user’s doorstep. The RunningMan delivery team has sent various items ranging from food and groceries to cooking gas and pet supplies as per requested, all typically sent within an hour.
Grab Raises US$750 Million In Funding To Go Up Against Uber Southeast Asia Expansion
Grab, formerly known as GrabTaxi and the largest company rivaling Uber in Southeast Asia has raised an amount of US$750 million in their Series F investment rounds. The oversubscribed funding was said to be led by Japan’s SoftBank and China’s Didi Kuaidi.
This achievement is quite the milestone for the company which has launched in 2012, as with the closure of this new round of funding, the top ride-hailing app is now at a valuation of US$2.3billion, as reported by TechCrunch, making it the second largest tech company in Southeast Asia, after Garena which was reported to be at US$3.75 billion.
The funds collected will be dedicated to several projects promoting market expansion as well as localized service, an insight that Grab founder and chief executive, Anthony Tan says is the key to consolidate and expand their spot in the Southeast Asia region.
“There is a clear advantage of being local which brought us to form global partnerships that include other local players”, said Anthony in a CNBC interview. “It’s about the reliance on their better understanding of local knowledge and also a way in how we make sure that users stay exclusively on our platform, never having the need to move to another app.”
Thus, looking at Grab’s partnerships with China’s Didi Kuaidi, India’s Ola and U.S.-based Lyf, it is a view that covers a broader market paired with local expertise. In this case, Uber will have to step up its game faced with this intense competition, furthermore aided by this dose of cash injection.
But ultimately, for Grab, the funds will not only be able to strengthen their ability to pursue their long-term goals, of continuing market penetration and leadership but also to construct their startup vision as well, and that is “to drive Southeast Asia transportation forward and transform the region’s mobile internet ecosystem”.
About Grab:
Offering car, motorbike and taxi-hailing services in a total of 31 cities in 6 countries, Grab is an online transportation network and technology company that offers ride-sharing services in the Southeast Asia region which includes countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines.